It's been nearly four years since Dalton Kelly lifted Foothill High's baseball team to a Northern Section championship over Pleasant Valley in walk-off fashion.

It still stands out in my mind as one of the most clutch moments I've covered. The then senior was 0 for 3 when he walked to the plate, and he ended his prep career on that RBI double, extending his streak of 51 varsity games of reaching base.

Storybook endings like that usually highlight an athlete's career. Not for Kelly. You could tell there was going to be more to expect from him in the future.

That time has come.

Kelly was drafted in the 38th round of last year's MLB June Amateur draft by the Seattle Mariners and chose to forgo his senior year at UCSB for his dream of playing pro ball. He's a week into his first full season in the minors, hitting third and starting at first base for the Clinton LumberKings, of the Midwest League in Iowa — a Class A Mariners affiliate.

In Kelly's LumberKings debut on April 7, he went 1 for 3 with two runs, two walks and a stolen base. He's hitting third in the lineup, starting at first base, and is hitting .263 (5 for 19) in six games. He's tied for the league lead with seven walks and has found a parallel with his high school days where he has reached base safely in every game so far.

To follow Kelly's season, you can go to www.lumberkings.com.

BASEBALL

A few of Kelly's high school teammates are tearing it up in college. Earlier in the year, video of Foothill 2013 grad Kenneth Fudge's bat flip from his walk-off homer went viral, reaching ESPN and MLB.com. Fudge, an outfielder for Texas A&M Texarkana, finished the game with two homers and seven RBIs against Jarvis Christian (Texas).

Brandon Erickson, who was co-MVPs with Kelly, was outstanding out of the bullpen for Kansas State last week. He got his first win of the year against Nebraska on April 5 when he threw four scoreless innings in relief and followed it up by holding Texas to two hits in three scoreless innings on Sunday. Erickson is second on the team with a 2.78 earned run average this season.

Sean David Clark, the 2013 R-S.V.P., has clobbered 10 home runs for Hope International University in Fullerton and ranks 28th in the nation in homers. He also has 33 RBIs.

Eli Putnam, a 2013 Foothill grad, leads the University of Central Florida with a .327 average (34 for 104), which is seventh best in the American Athletic Conference.

SOFTBALL

Anderson High grad and University of Oregon pitcher Cheridan Hawkins was drafted Thursday by the Dallas Charge of the National Pro Fastpitch. She was taken in the fifth round out of six and selected 29th overall to the NPF, which has only six teams.

Hawkins has earned multiple All-American honors in both high school and college. This year, as a senior, she is 13-3 with a 2.47 ERA and 173 strikeouts. In her career, Hawkins is 97-19 with a 1.85 ERA and a school-record 997 strikeouts.

There are six teams in the NPF, and the season starts May 31. Hawkins could still opt to play for Team USA instead of the NPF like former teammate and Sutter High grad Jessica Moore.

GOLF

Shasta High grad Ian Hoffman has helped the No. 24 Sonoma State men's golf team to a second-place finish at the 43rd Hanny Stanislaus Invitational in Turlock on Tuesday. Sonoma was second to Chico State, the top-ranked golf team in NCAA Division II.

Hoffman tied for 56th overall in the field by shooting 11-over 227 (76-74-77), but he had a familiar pairing in his second round. Nick Rivera, a freshman at Dominican University in Irvine, was Hoffman's teammate at Shasta in 2012-13 before transferring to Stevenson School in the Bay Area.

Rivera finished fifth overall at 4-under 212 for the tournament, including the tournament's low-round 64 on the final day.

Hoffman is averaging 75.67 across his nine rounds this season for the Seawolves.

MORE SUBMISSIONS

To nominate or recommend a North State native athlete for the Hometown Report, email sports reporter T.J. Holmes at timothy.holmes@redding.com.